The Unexpected Journey
by Athenian Gemini
Summary: When Cutter, Stephen, Abby and Connor step through an anomaly to return some raptors to their proper time, they never expect the anomaly to deposit them seven years into the future, giving them a brief glimpse of the future that may be in store for the ARC and themselves. Connor/Abby and mild/implied Becker/Jess and Matt/Emily Rating may change
1. Chapter 1 - Cutter

It had really only been a matter of time before something like this happened and they all knew it. If the Anomalies could open to the distant past and the, hopefully, far future, what was stopping them from bridging smaller periods of time like, say, a few years. Or at least Nick Cutter hoped they had only jumped a few years, it was hard to say as the ARC, as the large floor decal announced this place to be, looked nothing like he was used to. Just slightly behind him he heard Stephen swear as they all took in the sight around them. Everything was shiny and new and lit in a way that seemed to almost give the room a blue tint. To their right, the ADD, which was currently wailing at their arrival, had been given a major upgrade and perched in front of it was a young woman, not much older than Connor and Abby, whom they had never seen before, staring at them with owlish eyes, like she couldn't decide if she was amazed or terrified.

Behind them, the anomaly that brought them there flickered and closed, setting off a small flurry of panicked whispers between Connor and Abby that Stephen did his best to quell. Cutter, on the other hand, focused his attention back on the young lady in front of them, clearing his throat in an attempt to gain any kind of reaction out of her, "Hello, I'm-"

"Cutter!" The woman exclaimed in a slightly panicked tone, "Prof-professor Nick Cutter! And Abby, Connor, Stephen Hart! I-I've read all your files! What on Earth are you doing here?"

"Well, we, uh, we don't really mean to be." He admitted. The had only stepped through the anomaly for a couple of minutes, long enough to deposit some stunned raptors back in their own time and then the anomaly should have taken them right back to the grocery store they'd originated in. "I'm not sure how-"

"Jess!" This time he was interrupted by the sound of voices and multiple sets of feet as a small group of people rushed into the room.

The man in the lead, a tall, clean cut commando looking man with dark hair, seemed to steal the young woman's attention away from them, which was understandable given that he was quite conventionally attractive. She gave him a slight, reassuring smile as he approached her, "I'm alright, Becker. Nothing dangerous came through."

She gave a slight hand motion towards them and suddenly everyone was staring. The two people who had come in with him, a young woman with a mass of dark curls and a slightly stockier fairer haired man, looked taken aback by their presence, but the commando's eyes displayed a broader range of emotion, shifting from recognition to confusion to what seemed to be something akin to joy. Striding purposefully towards them, he clapped Cutter firmly on the shoulder, "Professor Cutter, it's good to see you again, sir. How…?"

"We're not sure how." Cutter shook his head, giving the man a slightly apologetic look, "Do we know each other?"

The man's eyes drifted over towards Stephen, Abby, and Connor and his lips pressed into a line. Releasing Cutter's shoulder, he offered his hand instead, "Ah, perhaps not yet. Captain Becker. I replace Captain Ryan."

Ah, that made sense, he supposed there would be a new hire in the wake of Ryan's death. Clearly Becker's approval meant something to the others because the young lady, Jess, as he had called her, had made her way over to them, hand extended towards him, "Jess Parker, team coordinator. It's a pleasure to meet you in person. This is Matt and Emily, two of our field operatives. Guys this is the original ARC field team!"

"So you two have never met before?" Stephen questioned, a small frown pinching his brow as Jess shook her head, wheels clearly turning in his head.

He opened his mouth to reply, but Cutter raised a hand to stop him, "Stephen, maybe we shouldn't ask questions we might not like the answer to."

"Good call." Matt nodded, his tone suggesting that maybe he had some experience with situations like this.

They had all been vaguely aware that Connor and Abby had been whispering back and forth behind them for the last minute or so of the conversation, but they had been easily ignored until now, when Connor decided to pipe up behind them, "Right, important question though. This is the future, yeah? Have we met aliens yet?"

"Uh, no." Becker informed him flatly, though his lips twitched towards a smile and a similar expression crossed Matt's face, making Cutter wonder if perhaps they were used to Connor's antics and weird queries. Behind him, Emily was having a much harder time hiding her look of amusement and Jess failed to contain a small laugh.

It was Abby's laugh behind him that surprised them the most, however, drawing their gaze as she gave him a cheeky grin, "You owe me ten pounds."

Abby quieted down at a look from Stephen, but Connor didn't seem to notice, at least offering a helpful question this time, "So, what year is it?"

"2014." Matt informed them, which explained to obvious technological upgrades. It wasn't hard to imagine that there would be some new innovative leaps in the next seven years and some that must be applicable to their work.

That information did seem to quiet Connor as he did the mental calculations figuring out how old he would be in this time if he was, in fact, still alive and with the ARC. He opened his mouth to venture another questions, but was cut off by someone jogging into the room, "Sorry I'm late, I was helping Abby in the menagerie with the… whoa."

The young man's surprise was a common feeling in the room as they got a good look at him. There was no doubt that it was Connor, but this older version seemed to have made some improvements on the current model. For starters his clothes seemed to actually fit him properly and the cut of his long sleeve t-shirt did little to mask how well he'd filled out over the years, pulling tight over his chest and arms in a way his baggy button ups and vests never quite accomplished. His face still held much of his signature boyishness, but he'd cut his hair shorter and grown in a neatly kept beard that, when paired with the small scar over his right eyebrow, gave him a more experienced and almost authoritative presence. He looked good, but he also seemed alien to them, like some stranger masquerading as Connor rather than actually being him.

Behind him, Connor and Abby where exchanging hissing whispers again, no doubt in reaction to the new arrival, but Older Connor ignored them completely, instead heading straight for Cutter and wrapping him in a big bear hug. When he pulled back, his eyes shone lightly with the threat of tears. Maybe he was still their Connor after all, Cutter thought, watching him envelop a rather confused Stephen in an equally tight hug. "I missed you guys so much."

Abby snickered at Stephen's expression, earning her an acidic look, but older Connor didn't seem to mind. Their Connor seemed more concerned with what his older doppelganger had said on the way in, a little hope creeping into his voice, "So, Abby and me still work here? And we still hang out?"

"Oh yeah, you _hang out_." Becker smirked, squirming out of the way of a well placed elbow from Jess as though he'd been expecting it.

"I don't like the way he said that." Abby announced, her narrowed eyes darting back and forth between the two Connors, "Makes me think _someone_ might still be sleeping on my couch."

"Hm? Oh no," Older Connor corrected, trying to hide a cheeky grin directed mostly at his younger self, "You gave me a dog bed and a water bowl in the kitchen eventually."

Their Connor looked sheepish, but Abby seemed to find the grin infectious, ducking her head in a lame attempt to keep the Connors from seeing it. Before she could add a follow up dig at her friend, Matt interceeded, "Perhaps we should relocate to the meeting room? Lester should be back from his lunch with the minister soon, he's probably going to want to see this."

Stephen tensed at the mention of Lester and Cutter himself fought the urge to roll his eyes, but no one could think of a reason to protest, so they allowed themselves to be ushered away from the where the anomaly had been and into what appeared to be a fairly standard conference room. Older Connor abandoned them somewhere along the way, making a comment about warning Abby about what was going on before she ran into them and got a shock, and Jess declared a need for tea and scurried off, leaving them alone with Becker and Matt who both seemed much more conservative with their small talk. They didn't have to wait long, however, they had barely settled around the large glossy conference table when a familiar irritating voice announced Lester's appearance in the room.

"What on earth is going on in here. Jess said there's something I have to see but she won't tell me…" His voice trailed off as his eyes landed on Cutter and the others, "Good lord."


	2. Chapter 2 - 2007 Abby

It was hard for Abby to admit to herself, but she was a little disappointed when the future Connor left them, he was a lot more… interesting than she'd expected Connor to turn out and she couldn't help being morbidly curious about her future self. Had she changed as much as he seemed to have done? Connor had mentioned that they had been in the menagerie together which piqued her interest in what creatures they may have collected and suggested that whatever outward changes had taken place in the last seven years, she was still largely herself. She hoped the same applied to older Connor, despite his grin and joke cracking he had seemed somehow different, in an older, wiser and more mature kind of way. That wasn't a bad thing in itself, of course, but there had been a certain tiredness to his gaze that she recognized as the look of someone who had learned some tough lessons the hard way and he looked like perhaps he hadn't slept well in a little while. Maybe it was silly, but it made her want to protect the dumb, goofy Connor that she had finally resigned to considering her flatmate. Once her annoyance at his ongoing presence had worn off, she'd started to become oddly fond of his light-hearted demeanor and it worried her to think that something bad enough to change that would happen to him.

She was pulled out of her thoughts by Lester's entrance, or more, by Connor's frantic shaking her arm and pointing out to her that Lester had arrived. It was relieving to see that some things, at least, hadn't changed and Lester looked exactly as she remembered him. Well, perhaps there were a few more crows feet at the corners of his eyes, but his crisp navy suit, neat brown comb over and stern gaze were unexpectedly comforting consistencies between this time and theirs. His stern demeanor took on a slight, well covered air of shock as he took them in, his lips parting slowly as though he might have something to say before pressing back into a firm, disapproving line.

"Right." He huffed, eyeing them cautiously, "I suppose I should have expected something like this from you lot sooner or later."

A bit of the tension in the room seemed to lift at his comment and Abby realized she'd been holding her breath waiting for a reaction, perhaps Connor had been as well because his voice sounded a little weak as he offered up a lame, "We didn't mean to…"

"Of course you didn't, Connor, you never mean to do anything." Lester sighed, crossing his arms, "Do you have any idea how much paperwork I'm going to have to do with two of you here?"

Most of the room, Abby included, couldn't help a small chuckle, but Connor at least had the good sense to look sheepish. Seeming to notice that the younger man may appreciate a rescue, Becker piped up, "Sir, the anomaly that brought them here closed. They're stuck here."

"Of course they are." Lester drawled, his gaze shifting to Connor and herself in an accusatory manner that she didn't quite understand, "You know, I'm beginning to expect this sort of thing from those two."

"I don't really like the sound of that." Connor admitted, shooting Abby a worried glance and she was obliged to agree.

"Do this a lot, do they?" Cutter inquired, an unmistakable tone of amusement in his voice.

"Certainly more often than we would like." Becker admitted with a slight smirk, "Once we even got to declare them dead."

"Ah yes." Lester scowled, "That was a nightmare to have reversed."

"It may be best," Matt interjected, his tone firm and commanding, "If we avoid discussing events that haven't happened yet from their perspective and just focus on what to do with them until we can find them a way back to where they should be."

"It could be years before their anomaly opens again." Becker pointed out, "We've never seen that one before."

"Well, they can't stay with me." Lester declared, "I did that once, never again."

"I don't have a spare room." Becker pointed out.

"I do!" Jess announced, breezing through the door behind him with a tea tray in hand. Setting it on the table, she deposited two of the mugs on the table in front of Abby and Connor, "Cream and two sugars and black for Abby. Sorry, I wasn't sure how the rest of you take it, so I just brought the works. Anyway, I can take Abby and Connor back to mine if you like, they've stayed with me before."

"We have?" Abby wondered aloud, looking Jess over more seriously than she had before. She didn't look like the kind of person Abby would usually be friends with. She seemed quite young, for one thing, and her general appearance suggested she was more… frivolous and soft than the people she usually found herself being friends with. Not that Abby had a lot of friends, she tended to prefer cold blooded creatures, but maybe she'd broadened her horizons by this time and Jess did seem... sweet.

"Mhm, you two spent a few weeks at my place when you got back from…" She faltered as she caught Matt's eye, making Abby curious about what she'd been about to say. "When- when you were between flats for a bit."

Abby was tempted to ask where they'd been and for how long that it had forced them to find somewhere new to live, however the sneaking suspicion that it was related to them being declared dead gave her pause.

"I don't think we need to go there yet." Matt pointed out, "For all we know they may not be here that long and it would be better to keep them quarantined from unnecessary access to the outside world for the time being. We have a few rooms set up here for temporary accommodations. Like the one Emily stayed in when she first-"

"Oh my god, you weren't kidding!" The voice that interrupted Matt knocked the wind out of Abby. She had been hoping to catch a glimpse of her future self, but she wasn't quite prepared for how jarring the experience would be. She gave her doppleganger a once over as she entered the room. Objectively speaking, she'd aged well, Abby had always feared she'd look more like her mother as she got older, worn out and saggy in all the wrong places with that bitter twist to her lips, but frankly she looked as good as ever, if a little tired. Like Connor, her style had matured a bit, ditching hoodies, miniskirts and leggings in favor of a simple jeans and t-shirt look, finished off with a dark leather jacket that she couldn't wait to own. She'd grown her hair out, which was a surprise as Abby herself could never actually tolerate the growing process long enough to make it pass her ears, and she had it pulled up in a messy ponytail like she didn't care what it looked like. Again, an interesting choice, Abby thought to herself as she gave Becker and Matt a once over, factoring in all the fit army boys who had been milling about in the hallways, it seemed to her there was more reason to dress to impress than ever. Unless, of course, maybe she was seeing someone.

"Why would I joke about that?" Older Connor protested, pulling her from her wandering thoughts about what kind of boy she might have attracted with her fit new look.

"Because it's you." Older Abby shot back with a roll of her eyes, causing Conner to don an all too familiar pout. Much like Connor had done when he had first seen them, she threw her arms around first Cutter, then Stephen, holding on to each for a good few seconds like she was greeting an old friend who had been away for a long time. Not a comforting thought. "It's so good to see you guys."

Cutter nodded, clapping her on the shoulder, "It's good to see you too, though, I'm going to guess I've seen you more recently than you've seen me?"

As he mentioned them, her double's focus turned to herself and Connor. For some reason Abby suddenly felt a little nervous, taking a small step backwards and grabbing at the closer of Connor's coat sleeves as the other version of her stepped up to examine them. She wasn't sure if she meant to protect him or herself but she felt a little better being closer to someone familiar. Noticing her apprehension, the older blonde stopped moving towards them, but seemed to continue her appraisal, "Gosh, we were young. I forgot how young."

Beside her, Connor seemed to finally stir out of staring at her future self, puffing up his chest a little defianty, "I'm twenty-three!"

"That's not as impressive sounding as you think, mate." Older Connor pointed out, trying to hide a wince. She felt her Connor shrink a little in embarrassment, ducking his head to avoid having to make eye contact with anyone.

"Hey, I think it's cute." Older Abby chuckled, giving them a sympathetic look, "And I kinda miss that coat."

"I miss that hat." Older Connor pouted, causing her future self to wrinkle up her nose, shaking her head. "You didn't like the hat? I loved that hat."

"Connor, it takes a very specific kind of person to pull off a fedora without looking like a..." Becker made "you know" motion.

"A douche?" Future Abby suggested, trying to hide a laugh.

Future Connor looked like he might add something else, but Lester seemed to have noticed her Connor's slumped shoulders and nervous fidgeting and, much to her surprise, came to the rescue, interrupting him with an annoyed huff, "Alright, that's enough, stop ganging up on him."

Both of their doubles muttered sheepish apologies and backed off, though they exchanged a few looks that led Abby to believe that they had a little more to say on the subject. Catching Lester's eye, she gave him a grateful look which he shrugged off in true Lester fashion. While at first Lester could seem generally disagreeable and cold, every once in a while she got this odd feeling that he might actually care about them all more than he let on. Maybe even Cutter.

"I agree with Connor." Emily, bless her soul, piped up in defense of both versions of Connor, "I think the hat makes him look distinguished."

"Not in this century, Em." Matt informed her kindly, though his apologetic look was directed her and Connor's way.

That brought a slight smile to Abby's face. Matt had a fairly serious, maybe even intimidating aura to him that had made her a little apprehensive since their arrival, but that slight glimpse of a softer side soothed her nerves. Maybe he, like Lester, was just putting up a hard front.

"Are they going to stay here are the ARC?" Older Abby inquired.

Lester nodded, "That does seem to be the best course of action for the time being. We don't want them learning anything they shouldn't know."

"Particularly to Abby and Connor Junior over there." Matt agreed, "And we should establish when exactly they come from to be safe."

"And maybe we should nickname Abby and Connor Junior to avoid confusion." Becker suggested, a mischievous smirk crossing his face.

Abby felt a flicker of annoyance at that suggestion and his expression, "I'm not responding to Junior."

"Yeah, I want a cool nickname." Connor announced, a little too excited sounding for her taste. Shooting him a look, she elbowed him lightly in the side.

"Why do we have to be the ones with nicknames." She questioned, crossing her arms, "Why don't they have to have nicknames."

"Because we're the ones who are supposed to be here." Her double countered, a similar tone of annoyance in her voice, "If we get a call while you're here, we're not screwing around with silly names on the coms."

"Fine." She huffed, vaguely aware that while her older self, Becker, and the two Connors had grouped around here to tackle the name issues, Cutter seemed to be over with Stephen and the rest of the future team actually addressing the important questions. Best get this over with so they could join them, she decided. "Well, what about just middle names then?"

Her Connor winced at that idea, "I would rather not, thanks."

"I'm going to have to agree with him there. Don't think he could pull off Gerard." Older Connor offered in a joking tone, though the look on his face suggested there was some deeper reason the two of them were opposed to it. "And your middle name is Sarah, so-"

"No." Becker added quickly, shaking his head, then, catching her curious look admitted, "We already had a Sarah on the team."

That felt like a topic that it was best not to press, or at least, not with Becker, so she let it drop and tried to think up a good alternative. Lester, on the other hand, seemed to be growing impatient with their side conversation, crossing his arms and glaring at them, "Look, you can nickname Bonnie and Clyde later. Those of you who actually woke up here today may actually want to listen to what is being said over here."

"As I was just explaining," Cutter continued as the attention focused back on him, "That we've come from October 17th, 2007. We got a call about a disturbance at a grocery store, found four fully grown velociraptors eating the janitor. We returned them through the anomaly, but when we went to go back, we came out here."

"I think I remember that one." Older Abby announced, "Connor slipped in the frozen food isle and used it as an excuse to get out of helping around the flat for a week."

Her Connor rubbed his shoulder thoughtfully, "Well it does hurt…"

"Don't even think about it." She warned.

"Right, Jess, can you pull up all the mission reports from before October 17th, 2007." Lester requested, "I want everyone to review them this evening so we don't have any mishaps."

"Oh yay, homework!" Older Connor muttered sarcastically, earning himself a sharp look.

"I'll get that done." Jess confirmed, trying to hide a smile at her teammate's comment as she headed out the door.

"Connor and I can take them to get settled in their rooms." Older Abby volunteered.

"Good." Lester approved, "Well, I'm sure the rest of you have something you could be doing. If you need me, I'll be in my office trying to figure out what kind of paperwork this calls for."


	3. Chapter 3 - Still 2007 Abby

As the others filed out of the room, Older Connor turned to the four of them and clapped his heads, "Alright, time for a tour! As we said before, this is the conference room. Obviously it where we do fancy meetings. Usually we just use Lester's office, which is that big glass room there and down that way is of course the main hub, where you arrived."

They followed Future Connor out of the conference room and towards the elevators, watching him point things out as he walked, with her doppleganger taking up the rear as though they were school children in danger of wandering off. Then again, that could apply to their Connor who was taking in everything with an excited expression, more than once having to be pulled out of the way of an employee or something inanimate he was about to walk into.

"Abby's lab is down that way, that has catwalk access to the menagerie, of course, and there's also the armoury, change rooms, the gym…" He continued, motioning to the hallway left of the elevators, then to the right, "That way is the breakroom, Matt's office, Becker's office and the security office, which is also kind of Becker's. Seriously, I don't think I've ever actually seen him in his office. Don't think I've ever seen inside it either. That's kind of sketchy, wonder what he's hiding in there."

"I've been in there." Future Abby assured him, swatting gently at his arm, "It's way neater than yours. And he's got all these pictures of us all up. It's sweet."

That brought that familiar pout back to Future Connor's face, "What'd he let you in there for?"

"'Cause he likes me better." She teased. For a second it seemed that their presence was forgotten as they watched her future self reach up towards his face like she was maybe going to pinch his cheek, but she seemed to think better of it as she caught sight of Stephen over his shoulder, letting her hand drop back to her side and clearing her throat as Future Connor turned away to call the elevator down. "Anyway, um, if you take this elevator down there's the parking garage, the menagerie, and the loading bay. Nothing that exciting."

It had been a little odd for her to see her and Connor's future selves behaving so overly familiar with each other, but she supposed by now they had in fact been friends and flatmates for long enough to grow close. She couldn't help wondering what it was going to be like to have someone who knew her so well and who she knew so well in turn, but she quickly pushed that aside in favor of something else her doppleganger had mentioned. "I would love to see the menagerie."

"I knew you were going to say that." Stephen chuckled, "One track mind."

"Actually, I wouldn't mind having a look down there either." Cutter admitted, "If you don't mind."

"Oh no, of course," Her future self couldn't seem to help lighting up a little at the interest they expressed in her creatures, "I'll take you down there once you get settled."

"What's upstairs?" Connor wondered allowed as the elevator doors opened and they began piling in.

"More labs, yours included, medical, and the rooms you'll be staying in." The older blonde informed him, pushing the button for the next floor up, "That's where we're going."

When the elevator reached their destination, they were quickly lead down the hall, pausing only to point out the door to Connor's lab, which Abby noticed was fitted with a lock that required a code, and the first aid room.

A little further down the hall, Future Connor and Abby stopped in front of two sets of unmarked doors facing each other in the hall. Each door had one of the same high tech looking locks as Connor's lab on the outside, but Future Connor pushed the door to the nearest one open with ease, "Here you go. They're all the same, we mostly use them if someone needs to spend the night for medical reasons."

"Or once in a while if one of the creatures is sick, Connor and I take shifts sitting up with them, but I keep a cot down to my office for that." Future Abby explained.

"That's really sweet." Abby smiled, peering into the room. It was nothing fancy, really just a plainly dressed single bed and nightstand with a lamp, though the wall across from the bed had a painting hung on it that was really just a mass of swirly colours. It reminded her of the non-descript, inoffensive artwork chosen to make hospitals seem more friendly, the kind of art no one really liked or disliked, it was just there.

Her Connor, she noticed, seemed less concerned with the size and decor of the rooms and was instead eyeing the lock on the exterior of the door. Catching his eye, Future Abby put her hand on his arm and smiled reassuringly, "Jess disabled the biometric locks for you, you're not prisoners. And there are locks on the inside for privacy."

That was only a slight comfort, she wasn't wild about the idea of being locked in, but it did little to soothe the gnawing feeling in her gut as it sunk in that they would be spending the night, and likely much longer, in this strange place. They had only been here for a few hours and she was already homesick for her flat and her lizards. Who was going to take care of her lizards? Future Abby had opened up the other rooms and was busy getting Stephen, Cutter, and Connor assigned to rooms and settled, but Abby was beginning to feel a little overwhelmed all of a sudden. Wandering into the first room, she sank down on the edge of the bed, taking in a big breath and holding it for a few seconds in an attempt to calm herself. She was starting to panic a little, she noted, as she tried to focus on not letting her body go numb.

"It's a lot, isn't it." It sounded like a question, but there was an oddly knowledgeable tone to Connor's voice as he said it. She didn't look right at him, keeping her eyes trained on the bland white ceiling, but out of the corner of her eye she saw Connor, no, Future Connor, crouch down in front of her. "Not knowing when or… or if you're going to get home."

Not trusting herself to speak, she nodded numbly. Hesitantly, he reached over and put a hand on her knee, a small gesture of comfort really, but suddenly she could feel her feet on the ground again. She let go of the breath she was holding in a little gasp, her gaze snapping to his face in surprise. Startled, or perhaps fearing he'd crossed a line, he started drawing his hand back, but impulsively, she grabbed him, holding him in place. "No, it's… could you stay for a minute?"

"Okay." He nodded, patiently holding that position, though she was sure the concrete floors must be painful on the knee he had braced on the ground, "I know it won't make everything better, but maybe tomorrow Abby and I could bring you guys some things. Change of clothes? A little something of home, maybe?"

"That would be nice." She admitted. Her Connor had once joked that every day they should dress in clothes they'd be okay wearing forever if they got stuck through an anomaly, but she hadn't really taken it to heart and, well, she didn't fancy wearing this outfit forever. "When did you get so insightful?"

"You beat it into me over the years." He joked gently and, in spite of herself, she couldn't help a small smile that he matched, giving her knee a light squeeze, "But don't worry, I still seem to put my foot in my mouth at least once a day."

"Everything alright in here?" Both her and Connor glanced up at the door to find her double leaning against the door frame, watching them. For reasons unknown to her, Abby got this odd feeling, not unlike the time in high school when she'd been caught snogging someone else's boyfriend at a party and she let go of Connor's hand.

"Feeling a bit overwhelmed." He told her, letting his hand slip off her knee, but otherwise not moving.

Other Abby didn't seem as annoyed with walking in on them as she maybe would have been if the roles were reversed and her Connor was in this position with some other version of her. Instead her future self seemed to regard her with a look of kind understanding as she wandered over, absentmindedly placing her hand on Connor's shoulder, "I'll bet you are. We've been through anomalies plenty of times, but coming face to face with yourself… it's been a little much for me to wrap my head around, too."

"I was saying we could maybe bring them some stuff tomorrow." Connor told her, putting his hand over the one resting on his shoulder and giving it a light squeeze before getting to his feet. As he rose, she couldn't help but notice he winced every so slightly when putting all of his weight on his left leg, likely another old injury she may have watch her Connor get.

"Yeah, that's a good idea." Her double agreed, helping him up, then giving her an apologetic look, "Abby, I know I said I'd take you and Cutter down to the menagerie, but it's actually getting on a bit and Connor and I, um, we have somewhere to be at six. Is it okay if we wait until tomorrow?"

"Yeah, that'd be fine." She agreed, actually feeling a little relieved, "I'm feeling a bit tired actually, I might just turn in."

"If you like." Older Abby nodded, "But if you're hungry, Jess said she'd go pick you all up some take out. Connor was keen on pizza, but I think Cutter and Stephen out voted him so it'll probably be Thai."

"Sure, thanks." She smiled awkwardly, "I should probably go see how they're all doing."

"Okay, we'll see you tomorrow." Older Abby promised, smiling kindly.

Venturing out of the room, she paused, watching her and Connor's future selves disappear into the elevator together before turning her attention to the others. She must have looked a little out of sorts because Stephen gave her a rueful grin, "See, that freaks me out, so I can't imagine how you must be feeling."

"It's certainly… interesting." She admitted, running her fingers through her hair.

"Suddenly I know how Kirk feels in Star Trek when they go to the mirror universe and meet their evil doppelgangers." Connor pipped up, looking up from the take out menu that he'd been scouring. "'Cept instead of evil, they're just more… fit."

"They are being really nice, all things considered." She mentioned, ignoring his last comment, "This is probably weird for them, too, but future me just seems really… I don't know? I'm not sure I'd be as nice if our roles were reversed."

"They certainly have matured." Cutter nodded approvingly.

"I suppose it has to happen eventually." Stephen teased, giving Connor's head a playful shove and dodged out of the way as Connor swatted at him in return.

Abby scoffed, giving Stephen a disapproving look, "I'm mature."

"Really? You just implied that if they were in our time, you would maybe try to fight future Abby." Connor pointed out, then his face lit up, "Actually, could you? I wouldn't mind seeing who would win that…"

He fell sheepishly quiet as they all glared at him. Cutter sighed, "Look, we're going to have to make the best of things here, so maybe you should just try and avoid your future selves."

"Might not be that easy." Stephen pointed out, "They are the only people we know here."

"And Lester." Connor pipped up again, helpfully, though Stephen didn't seem to appreciate his effort.

"My point exactly." Cutter nodded, "Connor and Abby should, at the very least, not be left alone with the future versions of them."

Stephen hesitated, then made a face, "You're right, we probably shouldn't leave Connor alone with future Abby, he might drool on her."

"Stephen," Cutter warned as Connor ducked his head to hide how his face turned bright red, "Leave him be. We all did our fair share of staring at everyone, this is a pretty strange situation after all."

"Well at least there's one thing we can all agree on." Stephen announced, taking the food menus that Connor was still holding and beginning to flip through them again as the conversation quickly devolved back into arguing about what they all wanted for dinner.

Abby wished she could say that the hesitant knock on her door woke her, but she was having absolutely no luck sleeping. She generally struggled to sleep in strange places, it reminded her far too much of being a kid in the system, bouncing from family to family, but this was worse than usual. Sighing, she climbed out of bed and made her way across the freezing cement floor to the door, unbolting it and peering out. Connor was standing on the other side, her Connor, clad only in his boxers and undershirt, much like how he slept at home. He also seemed to be fretting over the temperature of the floor, but looked up as she opened the door, his face apologetic, "Sorry. Did I wake you?"

She shook her head, "Can't sleep."

"Me either." He admitted. An awkward silence fell between them for a moment and she was starting to wonder if that was all he spoke again, his tone nervous and hurried, "Abby, about what Stephen said earlier, about me staring at future you…"

"Connor, it's fine." She assured him, "I did my fair share of staring at future you, too. And future me and everything."

"Right, yeah," He nodded sheepishly, "I just didn't want you to think I was… being inappropriate."

"I think she would break your arm if you tried." She admitted, then, after a moment's hesitation, opened the door a little wider, "Do you want to come in? It's bloody freezing standing here."

Not really waiting for an answer, she turned and headed back to bed, leaving the door open behind her. Luckily, he decided to follow her, closing the door before coming to sit on the end of her bed. Being dressing in nothing more than her nickers and t-shirt, she pulled the blanket over her legs to keep warm, tucking her knees up to her chest and crossing her arms on top of them.

"This is really… big, huh?" He blurted out once they'd situated themselves comfortably, "Them, I mean. And us being here."

"Yeah," She agreed, "It's doing my head in a little."

He gave her a funny look, kind of pouty with maybe a hint of jealousy, "Is that why you were in here with him, alone, while we were all out there?"

"He was just being nice." She assured him, then, after a moment of deliberation, admitted, "It was a little weird, though, he talked like he'd done this sort of thing before. Been stuck somewhere, I mean."

"Well, that's something to look forward to." He pulled a face that she couldn't help laughing at a little, which seemed to perk him up a bit. "But maybe now that we suspect it's going to happen, I can avoid it."

That was an attractive idea, she didn't fancy the worry she knew was in store for her if he did get trapped somewhere, but she sighed and shook her head, "This is why Cutter doesn't want us hanging around them. The more we know, the more we'll want to try and change and who knows what could happen? You could avoid getting stuck somewhere and die instead. Or we could cause another Claudia Brown. We could change this whole future."

"We may have already." He pointed out, "They were really surprised to see us. Other Abby thought future me was pulling her leg about us being here. I get the feeling they never did this part, which means the second we got here this future stopped being an eventuality and started being just a possibility. So maybe we should be learning as much as we can to make sure things turn out… right."

"I wish I know what the right answer was." She admitted grimly, "We can talk to Cutter about it in the morning and in the mean time, lets try and get some sleep, yeah?"

He nodded, getting up from the end of her bed and seemingly reluctantly heading towards the door, stopping just short of actually leaving. "Abby, could I…?"

She raised an eyebrow, "Could ya what, Connor?"

He blushed a little and shook his head, "Nevermind, it's nothing."

"Connor." She called as he reached for the door again, not sure if she was taking pity on him or seeking her own comfort when she offered, "You can stay if you like… on top of the blankets."

"Yeah?" He couldn't hide a small grin, "I mean, if you want me to."

"Don't make me regret this." She warned, shuffling over and patting the bed beside her. Rejoining her on the bed, they took a minute to get comfortable in the limited space. It wasn't that different from falling asleep on the couch together on movie nights, she decided, leaning her cheek against his shoulder as he leaned his cheek against the top of her head in turn.

"Night Abby."

"Good night Connor."


	4. Chapter 4 - 2014 Abby

**Sorry guys, this is a short one. Been a bit busy irl.**

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Abby awoke tangled up in limbs, as usual, the early morning light shining through the branches of the trees outside their bedroom window, casting dappling patterns on the ceiling as she blinked the cobwebs out of her eyes. For a moment, everything that happened the day before felt like a dream as raised her head from Connor's chest to survey the precious sight before her. Despite the pain and turmoil they had endured over the seven years since they'd met, when he slept he looked as young and innocent as he had been when she first saw him, though perhaps a little better groomed and bearing a few scars from their adventures. He was clearly wiped out by the previous day's activities, she noted, he didn't even stir as she extracted herself from his one armed embrace enough to prop herself up on her elbow. That was probably for the best as his waking would undoubtedly wake their other bedmate who lay sprawled across his chest with her face pressed into the crook of his neck. She smiled, brushing her fingers gently over her daughter's wild blonde curls while she slept. It was hard for Abby to believe that Nicola "Nikki" Temple was two and a half already, it felt like just yesterday that she'd locked herself in the bathroom at the ARC with her super secret drug store purchase and had a melt down about that little pink plus sign, worrying about how she was going to do her job with a baby. About being as bad a mother as hers was. About the very real possibility that Connor's work with Philip was going to kill them all or worse, kill him and leave her a single mother. They had overcome so much to make their little family work, neither of them really having anyone else in the world, which made it hard to not feel a little threatened by their doppelgangers in light of her conversation with Connor on the car ride home the previous evening. As much as she sympathized with their plight, understanding how it felt to be lost in a strange time, and tried to focus on that, she couldn't ignore that they could change everything. Maybe they already had. After all, if they were living the timeline that had brought her to this moment, she should remember it.

"I can feel you worrying." Connor's eyes were still closed, his voice was barely a whisper, still heavy with sleep as he wrinkled his nose at the morning light dancing across his eyelids.

"Aren't you?" She whispered back, comforted only a little as he gave her a slight squeeze with the arm around her waist.

"Abby, when I wake up, I'm going to be terrified." He admitted, gently tightening his hold on the sleeping toddler a little, like he thought she might vanish at any moment, "Can we please, just… just for another ten minutes… can we still be sleeping?"

She thought about it for a second, then leaned down and pressed a slow kiss to his lips before snuggling back into his side. Letting her hand rest on her baby's shoulder, thumb rubbing lazy circles there, she closed her eyes and willed herself to not think about who was waiting for them at work, "Maybe just fifteen more minutes..."

Once they finally dragged themselves out of bed, the morning proceeded in an oddly normal fashion with coffee and eggs and trying to find a coherent outfit for a boundlessly energetic toddler who was far more interested in making sure that both her parents had an adequate number of plastic dinosaurs to take to work with them. As always, Abby was sure they were going to be late, but somehow, as always, they managed to get Nikki to daycare in a timely manner and were back on the road with just enough time to get to work on time.

"I told you we'd make it." Connor boasted, kickstarting their usual idle car conversation with a cheeky grin.

"Yes, because you drive too fast." She reminded him sternly, turning the little plastic t-rex her daughter had insisted she take with her over in her hand fondly, "You're going to make a bad impression on Nikki."

He feigned an offended look, "She's two. I think I have plenty of time before she starts thinking about picking up my driving habits."

"Mhm, just you wait, she'll be sixteen an asking to borrow the car before you know it." She joked, though it wasn't a fact that she was particularly fond of.

Clearly he agreed because he shot her a mildly horrified look, "No! She can't. I want her to stay small forever."

"Well so do I, but she won't." She pointed out. He seemed to think about that for a second, then eased off the gas a little. She let the feeling of the slowing car settle over them for a few moments before shooting him a look, "Connor, she's not in the car now and I don't want to see Lester's grumpy face first thing in the morning."

"That's his normal face." Connor joked, but he returned to their previous speed.


	5. Chapter 5 - 2007 Connor

Connor woke up tangled in limbs, which immediately registered in his brain as wrong. It wasn't that he had never woken up in someone else's bed before, despite certain seemingly popular opinions, he'd had a sexual encounter or two in his life, it was just that in this situation he usually had a hangover and this morning he did not. And it had certainly been a while since it had happened. Heart hammering, he ever so gently pulled back so he could see the face of the person whose face was buried in his shoulder. Abby. The events of the previous night flooded back to him and he immediately felt relief, then a little disappointment, and finally, another slight bout of panic. He most definitely was not was not on top of the blanket. In his defense, he wasn't under the blanket either, at least not so much as he was under Abby who had the blanket wound around her like a poorly made toga and was clinging to him like a koala bear with one leg thrown over his hips, arms wrapped around his middle, and her face smooshed into his shoulder. He needed to plan an escape, he decided quickly, one that wouldn't wake her up because he had a feeling she would be none too happy if she found them in that problematic position, particularly given that there was a certain… problem coming up that he was surprised hadn't already made itself more known.

Holding his breath, like that might help the situation, he ever so gently tried to unwrap her arms from around him. Apparently that was the wrong move, he realized as her grip on him tightened and she gave a soft moan, squirting her way a little closer, which only helped make his problem a little more prominent. He was about to try a different tactic when she sighed deeply against the fabric of his t-shirt and then, to his horror, her whole body went tense, head shooting up from where it had been resting. Her sapphire eyes were wide in shock as they met his, "Connor?!"

"Yup?" His voice was little more than an embarrassing squeak as he waited for her to get mad.

Her face turned as bright red as he was sure his was, though the look in her eye was more one of fear and mortification than the anger he had expected, which he didn't consider much better as she whispered, "Is that…?"

"The morning." He muttered, worming his way out of her grasp with such urgency that he almost toppled off the side of the bed, jumping to his feet and retreating to the corner of the room, "Sorry, I, uh… sorry."

"It's fine." She replied quickly, rolling the other way so he couldn't see her face and untangling herself from the blanket. Extracting herself from the bed, she kept her back to him, which didn't really help the situation, he decided, as she was wearing only her t-shirt and knickers.

"I'm just… I'm going to go." He decided. She looked like she wanted to say something, but he didn't give her a chance to respond before he rushed to the door and flung it open. All he wanted was to escape back to his own room across the hall where he could get rid of his little problem or, at the very least, put his jeans on, but the universe, it seemed, was not on his side.

Abby was on the other side of the door. Future Abby. Just standing there with her fist raised to knock. She blinked, clearly as surprised to see him as he was to see her, then her eyes traveled down and back up and over to her past self and then finally back to him, "Huh…"

Seconds before, Connor had been pretty sure that his face could not get any redder, but he was decidedly re-evaluating that assessment now as he directed his gaze pointedly at the door, "It's… it's not what it looks like…"

"Uhuh." Future Abby bit her lip, clearly trying and failing to hide her amusement as she held up the bag she was carrying, "I, uh, I brought you two some clothes, but, you know, you look like you're doing fine as is."

Behind him, Abby surged forward, snatching the bag out of her future double's hand with a quick, terse, "Thanks."

With that, Connor found himself pushed out of the room and the door swiftly shut behind him. He stood there awkwardly for a moment with the other Abby before she shook her head and chuckled, "Give her a minute and she'll figure out there's stuff in that bag for you, too."

"Is there?" He wasn't sure why that surprised him, of course his future self would have packed up some things for him, it only made sense, but it felt like a nice gesture anyways. "Well… she can have it for now, I'll just… get me jeans."

He retreated back towards his room, a little confused when Future Abby trailed behind him, leaning on the doorframe while he gathered his jeans and hoodie from where he'd abandoned them on the floor and pulled them on. He fumbled with the button of his jeans in an embarrassing manner, for some reason having her watch him put his jeans on made him feel a lot more awkward than wandering around the flat in his boxers did. He was about to request a little privacy when she suddenly spoke up, "This is... weird."

"Wha- oh… uh, yeah." He stumbled over his words, awkwardly agreeing with her as he shrugged his hoodie on and zipped it up, "Um, about… about last night. You… er, she asked me to stay."

"Hm?" She looked confused for a moment, then seemed to remember the scene she'd walked in on, "Oh. Oh yeah. I expected as much. I would."

"Nothing weird happened." He clarified quickly.

An odd smirk passed over her face, which she ducked her head to hide, "Pity. But, no, I didn't think anything did."

He prickled at little at that assumption, "Well it could have!"

"With her? Unlikely." She shook her head with a slight laugh, "Besides, based on when you're coming from, don't you have a girlfriend?"

"Oh. Yeah. Caroline." He had, for a moment, forgotten about her. Abby was too good at distracting him from such things and when he remembered, he was overcome by a wave of guilt. Still, he gave her a sheepish look, "Well, maybe I'm a bit of a scoundrel."

"You're not." She didn't even hesitate before brushing that idea off.

He wanted to defend his non-existent bad boy persona, but he got the feeling that there wasn't much point, "I guess you know me pretty well by now."

"You are my best friend." She pointed out.

Best friend. That stung a little. More than he liked. He loved being her best friend, of course, he wouldn't give that up for anything, but he had maybe hoped she would leave him with a little hope for something more. He was trying to come up with a response that wouldn't sound pathetic when they were interrupted by Stephen and their Abby emerging from their rooms and heading over to join them. Stephen gave Abby and her new attire a once over, "That's a good look for you."

Connor had to agree, she looked pretty sharp in the tight fitting jeans and figure hugging V-neck sweater that her future self had brought for her. She nodded in thanks and tossed the bag onto Connor's bed, "Thanks. Um, there's some clothes in there for you, too. And these three plastic dinosaurs that I assume are also for you?"

Future Abby looked at the toys that her younger self offered up in surprise and perhaps a little embarrassment, quickly relieving her of them, "Sorry, those weren't supposed to be in there. They belong to my… um, Rex. They're Rex's."

That didn't sound particularly believable to Connor and Abby and Stephen seemed to agree, but before either of them could say anything, something else seemed to catch Abby's attention on her future counterpart's left hand. Grabbing the older blonde's wrist, she took a closer look at the ring she was wearing, "Is that… is that an engagement ring?"

"No. Just a gift." Future Abby replied quickly, pulling her hand away before any of them could get a good look at the ring and removing it, slipping it into her jeans pocket, "That's just the finger it fits on. I shouldn't be wearing it at work anyways. Might lose it. Is Cutter up? I'll take you guys to see the menagerie now if you like."

"He's been up for a little while." Stephen mentioned, "He said he was going to check out the hub."

"I should go find him." Future Abby resolved.

"I'll come with you." Stephen offered, "Maybe you could show me where to get a cup of coffee?"

"Sure." She smiled, then gave Connor and her younger counterpart an expectant look, "You coming?"

"Gonna change my shirt." He decided, digging into the bag and pulling out the first one he found, as if he needed to prove he wasn't lying.

Abby hesitated, looking from him to her futureself, "I'll, uh, I'll catch up to you."

Connor wasn't sure what made him more nervous, the fact that Abby was likely sticking around to remind him that last night meant nothing or the knowing look Future Abby gave her before leading Stephen off towards the elevator. He tried to pretend neither had occurred to him, turning his back to Abby and shrugging off the shirt he'd slept in, trading it for the one he'd retrieved from the bag. Future him wore tighter clothes, he noted. Abby said nothing as he changed, simply lingering in the doorway. Steeling himself, he forced a cheeky grin to his face as he turned around, "You know, Abby, if you keep standing there and staring at me like I'm a piece of meat, people are going to talk."

Instead of smiling or trying not to laugh, like he had hoped for, Abby shifted uncomfortably, crossing her arms over her chest and dropping her gaze to the floor, "Look, Connor, about last night…"

"I shouldn't have stayed." He said quickly. Maybe it would hurt less if he got ahead of it.

He could have sworn for a fraction of a second she looked as heartbroken as he felt, but she covered it up far too quickly for him to be sure. She shook her head, "I shouldn't have asked."

"You were scared." He reminded her, horrified to think that she blamed herself, "This is a weird situation and we were both scared. But I shouldn't have stayed."

"Because of Caroline?" She asked, her tone a little more bitter than he expected.

"Because I made you uncomfortable." He corrected, then winced, "And because of Caroline, yes."

She finally glanced up to meet his gaze, "Connor, it wasn't you that made me uncomfortable."

Something about the way she was looking at him made his heart speed up a little, but he tried to shut that down, breaking eye contact and pretending to further examine the contents of the bag she'd brought him. He had a girlfriend now, he shouldn't still be following Abby about like a love sick puppy. It wasn't Caroline's fault that she would never be what he really wanted. He changed the subject.

"What was all that about? With the ring? Do you think future you is…?" He glanced back at Abby, but she was looking away again, staring down the elevator doors with the little frown she got when she was thinking something over.

"Maybe." She admitted, "She'd been acting kind of odd since we got here… and she really didn't want me to see that ring."

He shouldn't have asked. The confirmation that she was very likely engaged settled in the bottom of his stomach like a sack of rocks. His own future self had said they still lived together and at the time that had pleased him, but now he felt a little sick. Was he really still hanging on seven years later? Still too dumb and pathetic to realize that he was never going to be worthy of her affections? He blinked back tears, both of disappointment and of anger at his future self, "Well… congratulations, I guess."

"Connor…" Abby started, but he didn't want to hear whatever pitiful comfort she was going to try to offer him.

Pushing past her in the doorway, he headed towards the elevator, ignoring her calling after him. Thankfully, she didn't try to follow him onto the elevator because as the doors closed, he had to start furiously wiping tears from his cheeks. If he was lucky, he'd be able to find a private corner to duck into on the lower floor to sort out his feelings. He was never lucky, he reminded himself, as he reached the floor he remembered holding the main hub. The elevator door dinged, and slid open, and standing there waiting for him was the girl they called Jess.

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**Oooof, when I started this chapter I thought it was going to be funny, but it got real sad there at the end... sorry guys.**

**Reviews keep me motivated :)**


	6. Chapter 6 - Jess

Connor caught her off guard. Partly because she had just left him in the hub with the others and was not yet used to the idea that she might run into another Connor somewhere else, but also partly because he was in tears. She'd seen Connor cry before, of course, she had lived with the man for a while and he was prone to being a little weepy at times, but this looked like more than that. This looked like the kind of meltdown that she was prone to at the end of a particularly bad day, which was worrying because it was only half nine in the morning. The Connor in the elevator stood there like a deer in the headlights, staring at her dumbly, so she made a snap decision.

"Come with me." She ordered, grabbing his hand and tugging him down the hallway immediately to their left until they reached Becker's office. Becker, she knew, was running training drills with the security team like he did every Tuesday morning, so this was a good place to get some privacy. Punching in the door code, she led Connor inside, pointing out one of the chairs to him, "Sit. And take deep breaths."

He sat obediently, taking the tissue she offered him and staring at it glumly for a moment before wiping his eyes. He looked very young, she noticed, which was odd because she knew for a fact that he was about the same age as she was now. There was something in his face that made that hard to believe in the same way it was often hard to believe that the Connor she knew was thirty-two. He seemed to have calmed down a little, but his voice was still shaky and watery as he glanced up at her, trying to force a smile onto his face, "Thanks. It's Jess, right?"

"Jess Parker." She confirmed with a kind smile, pulling up the other chair so she could sit beside him, "Do you want to tell me what's wrong? You don't have to, but… I don't mind listening."

He seemed to mull that over and for a second she thought that he was maybe going to tell her, but instead he asked, "Jess, are we friends? You… you said Abby and I lived with you for a little while, so we must be friends, right?"

She blinked in surprise, "Oh. Well, we are now. When I offered to let you guys stay at my place, we'd only actually known each other for a couple of hours, but I knew Becker and he said awfully nice things about you so I didn't see the harm. But yes, we are friends now."

"Good." He said with a little sniffle, "'Cause you're awful nice."

"Thank you." She smiled.

"I want to go home." He admitted suddenly, bottom lip trembling, fresh tears welling up in his eyes, "It's been great meeting all of you, but… but… but everything is strange and… and your Abby was wearing this ring and I want her to be happy, but… but I wanted her to be happy with me. And I can't lose her, Jess… and… and it's all my fault 'cause I'm the one with the girlfriend…"

"Shhhh, Connor." Jess put her hand on his arm to halt his tearful babbling, "Connor, I know this must be really hard, I can't even imagine what you're going through, but you're jumping to conclusions and it's not helping."

"I know." He whimpered, accepting another tissue as she offered it.

"Look, Connor, what you're seeing here? It's just a moment." She told him kindly, "It's out of context. And I really, really wish I could give you context. I would really love to tell you all the good things that are coming your way because I do believe that my Connor, out there, he's the happiest he's ever been. He has so many good things in his life. And there have been bad things, too, but… but I can tell you that Abby has been there for all of them. The good and the bad. And she's going to keep being there as long as she can. You're not going to lose her."

He sniffled, "Yeah?"

"Honestly Connor, at this point, I don't think you could get rid of her if you tried." She joked, pleased to see the ghost of a smile cross his face as she did. She gave his arm a comforting pat, "Okay, now take a couple of deep breaths and dry your eyes before Lester comes barging in demanding to know why I'm not working."

That image earned her a genuine laugh, but he also did as he was told, wiping his eyes and taking a few deep, ragged breaths until his breathing sounded a little more normal, "Thank you, Jess. I feel a bit better."

"Good." Getting to her feet, she offered him her hand, "Then let's go get you a coffee and a bagel before there are none left."


	7. Chapter 7 - 2007 Abby

Abby scanned the faces in the hub as she exited the elevator, worried when Connor wasn't immediately among them. She wasn't really sure what he was so upset about, sure he had made his interest in her obvious when they had first met, but since he'd met Caroline whatever affections he'd had for her seemed all but forgotten. That was half the reason she hadn't told him who she suspected of giving her that ring. The other half being that she didn't really want to admit her feelings to herself.

She would be lying to herself if she claimed she'd never considered Connor as a romantic option for herself. Sure, at first he had seemed to be little more than an immature annoyance, but over time he had grown to be her best friend, proving himself to be loyal and kind and funny, traits she was often guilty of severely undervalued in her romantic partners which was likely why her relationships tended to end badly. Not to mention that their job had helped Connor mature and fill out a little more and, well, she couldn't help starting to notice him a little more. But then Caroline had come into their lives. It was far too cliche for her taste, but she couldn't deny that her interest in Connor had become much more prominent once he had become unavailable. She had gotten far too used to being the center of his attention and now that he was giving that attention to someone else, she was feeling a little desperate to get it back. Maybe that was part of why she had asked him to stay with her last night, to prove that she could still command his attention. But then that hadn't really worked out for her, had it? He had just seemed upset and uncomfortable with the whole situation, which made sense when she thought of how often and how adamantly she had pushed him away when he showed any interest in her.

Maybe that's why he wasn't picking up on the signs that she was, she realized, her stomach twisting a little with guilt. Maybe because of the way she treated him, he saw what she suspected was evidence of a possible relationship as her just leading him on. Again. Maybe she was, but there was something about the secret smiles they shared and the casual touches they were so clearly trying to hold back from… she wouldn't do that just to break his heart again, would she? She liked to think not.

"You're worrying again."

A wave of relief washed over her as she heard his voice, but stopped quickly when she turned to see that it wasn't her Connor making his way towards her. She tried to keep that off her face, "What?"

"You're worrying." He repeated, "You get that little crinkle in your nose when you're worrying about something. My Abby was making that same face all morning."

"She's worried we're going to mess up her life." Abby guessed.

"Can you blame her?" He raised an eyebrow, crossing his arms over his chest as he leaned against the railing outside Lester's office, "I'm a little worried about it myself."

"No, I guess not." She shrugged, "Would you even know if things changed?"

"Probably not." He admitted, sounding wiser than she ever expected from her Connor, "I could wake up tomorrow and everything I love could be gone and I'd likely never know the difference. Does that make it better or worse?

"I don't know." She admitted in return, then hesitated, "I think… I think I did something stupid."

"That's usually my job." He joked, but when she didn't laugh, he motioned for her to continue.

"I noticed… that the other Abby was wearing a ring." He went very still as she spoke, "I should have pretended I didn't notice, but I didn't. I asked about it and my Connor got really upset and now I don't know where he's gone."

"He can't have gotten far." He offered comfortingly, though he kept his eyes very carefully trained on the floor, "And why do you reckon he's so upset?"

"I don't know. He thinks I'm married… she's married." Abby shifted uncomfortably, rubbing her face with one hand, "I think he thinks that's it, he doesn't have a chance because she's gone and married someone."

Connor finally glanced up at her, a solemn look in his eyes, "Does he? Have a chance?"

"I don't know! He's the one who went out and got himself a stupid girlfriend." She snapped, then winced as he flinched, "Sorry. I forgot for a second that you're…"

"No, you're right." He shrugged, "But you also never gave me any reason not to. To think you might be interested."

"I'm not… I don't know that I am interested in that way." She frowned, "I just know I hate Caroline."

A funny look flickered across his face, but it was gone before she really had a chance to identify it, "Right… Caroline."

"She is so fake." Abby complained, "She is so fake and sketchy and he doesn't even seem to notice. How can he not notice?"

"Abs, I am… very bad at social queues." Connor pointed out, "For reasons that you should probably talk to your Connor about."

"Can't you just tell me?" She whined.

"I already told you once." He shrugged, "It's his turn now."

"Jerk." She accused.

He chuckled in return, which only proved to annoy her further until he sobered slightly, giving her a curious look, "Can I ask… what makes you think he shouldn't be upset?"

It was her turn to avoid his gaze, squeezing her eyes shut and tilting her head back as she gave a frustrated sigh, "She… she doesn't look at you like I look at my mates."

"I wish I could help you sort this out. Tell you which one of you is right." He sighed, shoving his fingers through his hair, "But I've already said too much. I'm risking losing the one person I love more than anything else in the world."

"Connor," She scoffed, "You're my best mate. Even if we don't get together, it's not like I'm going to just abandon you."

"I'm not talking about you."

She was a little taken aback by that. It was a little self centered to assume he was talking about her, but from the way they looked at each other, she couldn't imagine there was anyone else he'd be describing like that. Unless…? She thought back to the other odd discovery of the morning. Plastic Dinosaurs. The kind you would buy for a child. She faltered slightly, "Wait, do you have…?"

"Abby?" She trailed off as Cutter and her future self came up the stairs behind Connor, both giving the two of them a curious look, "We're heading to the menagerie now, if you want to come along?"

Abby hesitated. She wanted to see the menagerie, of course, but she was burning with questions. One look at Connor's face made up her mind for her. He wasn't going to answer any more questions. Not right now. Taking a deep breath, she forced a smile, following her future self to back towards the elevators, "Right, yes, let's do that..."


End file.
